Titolo completo

The Central European Initiative: Legacy from the Past, Vision for the Future

The Central European Initiative (CEI) is the oldest and largest framework of regional cooperation in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. Founded in November 1989, days after the fall of the Berlin Wall, under the original name Quadrangular, it was conceived as a bridge between countries that the Cold War had kept apart. Today it brings together 17 member states, within and outside the European Union, around its founding mission: promoting regional cooperation for European integration and sustainable development.
This document, drafted by the Istituto Affari Internazionali, builds on the Chair’s Statement issued in March 2026 for the 30th anniversary of the Executive Secretariat in Trieste and offers an independent contribution to the CEI’s strategic reflection and to its next Action Plan.

Paper presented at the conference “L’iniziativa centro europea – La concretezza di una suggestione”, Rome, 29 October 2026.